Road to Ninja: Minato
by Double-Gemini
Summary: Basically the Road to Ninja movie told from Minato's point of view. I haven't written anything in forever and this was a good challenge to get me out of my writers block. Rated T just to be safe but nothing really shocking in here.


Ok... I know there are a lot fans out there that are probably really mad at me for not updating any of my other fics, but I've been suffering from a really nasty case of writer's block. I just saw the Naruto: Road to Ninja movie and I couldn't help but write this up. Sorry if it seems inconsistent in some place; but I haven't really watched Naruto in a really long time. I am trying to work on my other fanfics; but working part-time and being a full-time student is hard... will work on chapters when I have the time... sorry for taking so long.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto franchise. Otherwise I wouldn't be working part-time to pay my college tuition.

* * *

Minato knew something was wrong; had known for a while now. He had seen the signs long before he and Kushina had left on their mission to track his wayward sensei down, but had foolishly hoped it would go away by itself.

There was something wrong with Menma. Something that Minato wasn't sure he could identify. His son had become moody, closed off and distant from Minato and Kushina; and while Minato knew that all teenagers Menma age were entitled to their own secrets the change from Minato's happy boy was startling.

Minato had hoped, rather foolishly, that this change came from the fight Menma had with Kushina not too long ago. Menma wanted to take the jounin exams, Kushina didn't think he was ready; both of them were as stubborn as mules and thus ensued a yelling match Minato was sure half the village heard. The end result was an angry Menma who refused to speak to both of them even as he saw them off on their mission.

So Minato did what he thought best for his brooding son (or as Kushina would later tease him did his best to spoil their son) and steadily wore Kushina down throughout the length of their mission into agreeing to let Minato write Menma's letter of recommendation. It wasn't really hard, Kushina already felt guilty about the fight she had with Menma and it only took a little push from Minato to get her to agree.

With that settled Minato was looking forward to finishing their mission and heading home as soon as possible. He didn't like the way Menma had looked when they left. Menma had been unnaturally pale, dark bags had shadowed his tired blue eyes, and his whole entire posture screamed exhaustion as if Menma had gone through a non-stop training exercise with a Kakashi on a sugar high. Minato was going to say something, Kushina was beside herself with worry and came very close to calling the whole mission off, but Menma's sudden and resolute stare pinned them both in place.

Worried, but certain that at the very least Menma would take care of himself, Minato had bid his son goodbye and was slightly disappointed that all he got in return was a silent nod. Kushina had given Menma a hug, which Menma didn't return, and the two of them left with one last glance over their shoulder to their only son. Menma was gone before the two of them had even reached the horizon.

* * *

Nearly a month and a half later Minato and Kushina were on their way home and any issues Minato may have had with Menma was blown out of his mind by what they had discovered on their mission. Jaraiya was dead. Minato's sensei was dead. The man who was practically a father to Minato, a grandfather to Menma, was dead; and no one knew who killed him. The only description they had was a masked man who could use exponentially dangerous jutsu; and that described practically every missing Nin out there.

It wasn't until Minato was standing outside of Tsunade's door and he heard Menma's voice on the other side that he was suddenly reminded about all the troubles he had left behind at home.

Menma was looking a lot better than he had been when Minato and Kushina had left. His skin returned to its normally healthy tan, there were no bags under his bright blue eyes, and he seemed fairly energetic.

It wasn't until Menma's shocked question of them being alive that Minato suddenly realized that Menma hadn't had the chance to make-up with either of them in over a month. Apparently Kushina forgot that fact given how quick she was to smash Menma over the head for such a rude question. Menma didn't seem to mind all that much, but for some reason stubbornly insisted on going along to retrieve the scroll.

This was interesting, for what reason did Menma want to see the scroll? On that matter, why did Sakura want to come along as well? Minato knew that Menma and Sakura had been friends before Minato had left on his mission, but now the two seemed closer than ever. A fact that did not go un-noticed by Kushina considering the sly grin that was slowly creeping up on her face, it become a full out grin when Minato asked Tsunade to let Menma and Sakura on this mission.

Ignoring the grin on his' wife's face, Minato really did want to see why exactly Menma insisted on being a part of this mission. He also wanted to spend some time with his son. Minato had been gone for over a month and it was pretty obvious that Menma was still holding on to some sort of grudge over the argument from before Minato had left. Hopefully allowing Menma onto the mission would help somewhat.

No such luck. If anything Menma became even more rebellious. Menma had refused to come down for dinner; opting instead to barricade himself in his room almost as soon as he got home (rather literality considering the wreckage left in his room) and when Kushina had forced him to eat dinner with them Menma had done so un-willingly. Dinner had been a rather tense affair; both Minato and Kushina had done their best to reconnect with their son, but Menma had refused to say anything more than a word or two. Not only that, but Menma had looked extremely uncomfortable in their presence, reacting awkwardly to even the smallest of things and looking unsure of himself throughout the whole thing. The sight of his son acting as if he was a stranger to them sent a sharp pang through Minato's heart. Were he and Kushina really gone so often that Menma no longer felt like family to them?

Luckily they had that mission to do together; if anything Minato could almost consider the whole thing as a sort of family vacation for the three of them. Even if everything went according to plan, it would take them a total of two weeks to complete the mission. Maybe Minato could repair their relationship with Menma during this time.

However it seemed like Menma was doing his absolute best to ignore everyone. Even though Menma would do whatever he was asked, he always held himself a certain distance from everyone else. The only person who he really talked to was Sakura, and even then it was only in short burst and done entirely in whispers.

As much as Minato wanted to, he didn't confront his son on his behavior yet. A sense of unease was slowly building up in Minato, and Minato wasn't sure what was causing it. It wasn't until the disastrous encounter with Gamma Bunta and Kushina getting hurt protecting Menma that Minato finally cornered his rebellious son.

Menma was panicking. That much was very clear to Minato so he didn't really mind Menma's half mad rant about his mother, but Menma needed to snap out of it so Minato slapped him. The boy had looked so shocked that Minato felt the need to remind him that Minato and Kushina were his parents and that they couldn't stop themselves from trying to protect him even if they knew that Menma was perfectly capable to protecting himself. Then Kushina had shown up and both Minato and Menma braced themselves for the impact.

It was surprising to both of them when Kushina hugged Menma, both had expected her to blow up, but it was even more surprising to Minato when Menma hugged her back. It gave Minato hope that maybe their relationship was still salvageable, that everything will turn out ok.

* * *

For a while it did seem as if everything was going back to normal. Menma had opened up to them again, and he seemed to really enjoy spending time with Minato and Kushina. Despite this, Minato couldn't help but continue to feel uneasy. Teenagers were allowed their secrets, but keeping secrets is what almost destroyed their relationship in the first place. Menma was still hiding something and Minato needed to find out what.

Minato never got the chance. Shortly after returning, the village was attacked. The strange masked man attacked the Hokage directly and displayed a frightening amount of power and control.

Then Menma showed up with Sakura following close behind. As terrified as Minato was to see Menma fighting, Minato couldn't help but pick up on a few things Menma said. Who exactly was Madara? Why did Menma want to fight him? Finally, what was Madara's connection to the masked ninja?

Minato didn't get to wonder for very long. In a single move the man had kidnapped Sakura and destroyed Konoha. It was a miracle that the three of them had survived, let alone anyone else. Minato had to help reorganize the village, he needed search and rescue teams to find survivors, and he had to make sure the village wouldn't be attacked again while they were so weak. And yet, and yet, the devastated look on Menma's face when he said that they couldn't go after Sakura cut far deeper than his earlier anger ever had.

Suddenly, and abruptly, the look on Menma's face changed. A new determination shone in his eyes while a pained smile made its way onto his face. The sense of foreboding overwhelmed Minato at this point and he almost dreaded to hear what Menma said next.

_"Actually I'm not a person from this world!"_

Minato's mind grounded to a halt at such an outlandish statement. What was Menma talking about? Sure he may have felt a bit lonely when he and Kushina weren't here; but there was no reason to think that he was an alien because of it.

_"Furthermore, my name is not Menma. I'm sorry that I lied. My real dad was the Fourth Hokage, and my mom was a jinchuriki of the kyuubi. Both of them died in the real world in order to save people. In order to save the village and in order to save me."_

It was by this point that Minato knew that nothing he said or did would change Menma's, no not Menma but the person who bore such a striking resemblance to their son, mind. Kushina on the other hand was refusing to let the boy go. She begged him to stay, unwilling to acknowledge that the boy they had spent the past two weeks with was not their son. The boy who they had fought with, had laughed with, had been a _family_ with was not their son; and that their son could be anywhere and in danger at this very moment. She needed to know why and the boy who was not Menma answered.

_"Because I am the son of two heroes!"_

And then he was gone. The boy who looked like Menma had run off with surprising agility following after Sakura and the masked man. Minato would like to say that he had reacted just as swiftly as this fake Menma did in the face of disaster; but that wouldn't be true. He had been stunned by the revelation as much as Kushina had, and he was just as worried about the village as he was about the not-Menma and Sakura. It was actually Kushina who spurred Minato into action, done so with a swift punch to the back of his head to get Minato to snap out of it.

Together the two of them had found Tsunade and begged her to send help to their not-son. Tsunade had originally refused for the exact same reasons as Minato did earlier with Sakura. But then Kushina had snapped and faced with an angry Kushina and equally persistent Minato; it wasn't long before Tsunade caved and found a compromise. Minato didn't trust the Akatsuki, not many people did, but he couldn't deny that they got things done when given enough incentive. So it was with much reluctance that they hired the Akatsuki to go after the not-Menma and Sakura; while Minato and Kushina did their best to set up emergency defenses and hospitals to help Konoha get back on its feet.

Minato, as much as he cursed each passing moment, was actually grateful for the break. This gave him time to think about everything the not-Menma had said. To think about all the time he had spent with the boy who wasn't his son. How would he face that child if they ever met again? What would he say?

It wasn't until Minato and Kushina made it to the battlefield (Minato took exactly one second to wonder what the hell had happened and why it looked like to demons had fought each other here) that Minato suddenly knew what to say.

_"Even if you say you're not our Menma. Still you don't feel like a stranger."_

It was another masked man; wearing an Akatsuki cloak and orange spiral masked that was facing them now. Minato had only seen the man for a minute but he could already tell that man was not to be messed with. The not-Menma and Sakura both seem to recognize this man and Minato could guess as to his role in this whole mess. The not-Menma confirmation of it just made it final.

It was then when a green glow caught Minato's attention. Not far away another boy laid on the ground, this boy without a doubt was Menma. This boy was their son and Minato felt the relief flood through his body. Here was his son; safe if a little hurt, and then everything the not-Menma said suddenly came rushing back to him.

Both the not-Menma and Sakura began to glow, and while Minato had absolutely no knowledge on how any such jutsu may have work; it didn't take a genius to figure out that the two were leaving. It was strange, Minato was ecstatic because he had found his son; and yet at the same time he felt hollow at the fact that he was losing one as well.

_"I really thank you for coming here to save me! And though it was only a short period of time, I really am grateful to you two! It was the very first time I got to spend with my family. Thank you for giving me a warm meal. Thank you for sincerely worrying about me, scolding me, and living healthily, really."_

The pain in that boy's voice made Minato heart freeze. The boy was trying so hard to stand by himself, to be strong, that Minato wanted to grab the boy and never let go. And yet he knew that this boy was not meant to be in this world, that hopefully there were people in that world waiting for him. And then, just like before, the boy and Sakura were gone in a burst of light that left Minato and Kushina behind in the dark.

"Naruto," Kushina suddenly said much to Minato's surprise, "that's what she called him."

"Naruto huh?" Minato answered as he met Kushina's determined gaze. He knew exactly what Kushina wanted and he couldn't help the small smile that made its way on his face, "When Menma wakes up there's a lot that we have to discuss. I think he would like to hear about our other son. Perhaps we could tell him this over a bowl of ramen with extra Naruto."

Kushina reacted swiftly and precision as she knocked Minato on the head for the terrible pun before the stress of the night and the relief that everyone had made it out alive finally overtook her and she burst out laughing. Minato joined in soon after and their laughter greeted the sun as it began to rise as if guaranteeing that there will be a better future.

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So Read An Review (am like this RAD I saw someone else use. Might use it from now on.) Bye bye!


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